Showing papers in "Journal of Marriage and Family in 1995"

Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: two forms of violence against women

Abstract: This article tackles two distinct types of couple violence occurring within families in the US and other Western countries. A review of data from a large sample survey and of qualitative and quantitative data collected from womens shelters indicates that some families suffer from occasional display of violence from either husbands or wives (common couple violence) while other families are terrorized by systematic male violence (patriarchal terrorism). Findings of national survey also reveal the incidences of spouse abuse perpetrated by either the husband or the wife in contrast to the reports received in shelter homes with high incidence of women abuse. The differences in the gender pattern of violence between the national surveys and the statistics collected by public agencies are due to their nonoverlapping of variables. Further discussed are per couple frequency patterns of behavior in terms of escalation and reciprocity and initiation of violence. Arguments are presented regarding the validity of two radically different descriptions of the nature of couple violence in the US. Finally the study emphasized that the difference between common couple violence and patriarchal terrorism is important due to its implications for the establishment of public policy the development of educational programs and intervention strategies and the development of theories of interpersonal violence.

Social Capital and Successful Development among At-Risk Youth

Abstract: Social scientists have been slow to appreciate the great diversity among the poor. Until quite recently, researchers have devoted more attention to examining patterns of persistent poverty than to understanding how individuals and families maneuver their way out of economic disadvantage (for exceptions, see Clark, 1983; Kellam, Ensminger, & Turner, 1977; Williams Kornblum, 1985). Evidence about mobility patterns among the poor provides a perfect analogy to the half-empty/half-full glass. Of individuals who begin life in poverty, at least as many manage to improve their circumstances as remain persistently impoverished (Duncan, Hill, & Hoffman, 1988). Yet relatively little is known about how and why some of the disadvantaged eventually escape while others remain entrapped in poverty. As researchers from different disciplines have begun to tackle this problem, they have, not surprisingly, each featured explanations congenial to their distinctive ways of looking at the world. Economists stress the importance of financial and human capital, highlighting how individuals invest time and money to improve their long-term position in the labor force (Palmer, Smeeding, & Torrey, 1988). Psychologists point out the importance of individual traits such as competence and self-efficacy, both of which are linked to upward mobility (Bandura, 1989; Garmezy, 1985; Rutter & Madge, 1976; Werner & Smith, 1982). Sociologists, for their part, underscore the importance of institutional resources and social networks in the communities where poor people reside (Granovetter, 1973; Wellman 8t Wortley, 1990). Of course, in reality these different sorts of mechanisms often operate in tandem. Perhaps the most interesting question, then, is how these various sources of differentiation among the poor are packaged together. Answering the question of how id why certain types of individuals locate and use resources that are often in short supply within their local environments to improve their own prospects, or the long-term prospects of their children, involves integrating the different disciplinary perspectives. This article draws on data from a longitudinal study of teenage mothers and their children to investigate sources of differentiation on several indicators of young adult success. In particular, we explore the role of social capital, a concept developed by Coleman (1988) that to some extent bridges the disciplinary gaps described above. Our goal is to determine whether successful outcomes among our sample of disadvantaged youth are related to measures of both family-based and community-based social capital. SOCIAL CAPITAL AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT The process of investment in the economic, psychological, and social resources believed to be associated with upward mobility begins early in life and typically takes place within the family. Parents, in addition to utilizing their financial resources, cultivate and promote individual competencies in their children; with varying degrees of effectiveness, these same parents seek opportunities in the environment and attempt to shelter their children from dangers. Thus, the family represents a point of common interest to social scientists seeking to understand why and how certain children are able to escape the powerful disadvantage of growing up poor. Coleman (1988) employed the term social capital to designate the complex and variegated social mechanisms that parents garner to advance their children's chances of success. Coleman's description of social capital is quite broad and overlaps with some of the specific theoretical constructs and processes identified by developmental psychologists attempting to explain the successful adaptation of children at risk of long-term disadvantage (see, e.g., Garmezy & Rutter, 1983). Coleman's ideas also echo the approach to studying development formulated by Bronfenbrenner and his students (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Garbarino, 1992; Steinberg, Dornbusch, & Brown, 1992). …

Inner-City Parents Under Economic Pressure: Perspectives on the Strategies of Parenting.

Abstract: The historical record of industrial societies documents the widespread consequences of economic hard times for families and children, including greater risks of marital breakdown, child abuse, and neglect (Eckenrode & Gore, 1990). These hardships are commonly linked to the recessions and depressions of economic cycles, but they also stem from an expanding economic inequality between families at opposite ends of the class structure. In the United States, this gap has significantly increased in recent decades, placing a large number of lower income families in more desperate straits. Socioeconomic trends over the 1980s markedly reduced the size of the middle class (Duncan, Smeeding, & Rodgers, 1991) and placed lower income families under mounting economic pressures as their standard of living lost ground relative to that of upper income households (Bradbury, 1990). Featured among these declines are the younger heads of households and single parents. However, no families have experienced more disadvantages from this change than younger African American and European American families who are concentrated in the impoverished neighborhoods of America's inner cities (Jencks & Peterson, 1991; Wilson, 1987). Similar to inner-city families during depression eras of plummeting income and soaring hardship (Elder, 1974), these families face stark necessities with limited options. What are the consequences of this rising level of economic pressure for parenting among inner-city families? Two complementary approaches are relevant to an investigation of this question. One approach traces the effect of macro, sociodemographic and economic changes on families through their impact on characteristics of the neighborhoods in which the families and children reside (Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, Klebanov, & Sealand, 1993). These characteristics include social composition, cohesion, and control, as well as the presence of service institutions and family networks. The other approach views parents and children as actors within the correlated constraints and options of their inner-city neighborhoods. This approach focuses on the within-neighborhood heterogeneity of families, as expressed in financial and psychological resources, perceptions of neighborhood, and family management strategies (Eccles et al., 1992; Furstenberg, 1993; Walker & Furstenberg, 1994). The central questions of this approach focus on modes of family adaptation, their variations and consequences. Both of these approaches are concerned with the extent to which families select themselves into the places where they live (Tienda, 1991). This study follows the second approach in addressing the process by which economic hardship and pressures adversely affect both the emotional health and parenting behaviors of inner-city African American and European American parents. Building upon the insights of an ethnographic study of inner-city parenting in Philadelphia (Furstenberg, 1993), a team of senior researchers, working in conjunction with their membership in the MacArthur Network on Successful Adolescent Development in High-Risk Settings; (see Jessor, 1993), developed survey instruments to investigate variations in parenting among inner-city neighborhoods. These instruments were then administered to a sample of nearly 500 Philadelphia families of lower middle-class to lower lower-class status with a young adolescent (ages 11 to 15) in the household. In this study we test the hypotheses (a) that parental emotional distress represents an important bridge between family economic hardship and parental ineffectiveness in beliefs and actions, (b) that the process varies by family structure and social emotional support, and (c) that parents with a sense of efficacy tend to engage in family strategies that promote developmental opportunities and minimize risks. Emotional distress refers to a variety of uncomfortable subjective states, from forms of malaise to anxiety and depressed affect (Mirowsky & Ross, 1989). …

Understanding and Evaluating Qualitative Research.

Abstract: During the past 6 years (1989-1994), the Journal of Marriage and the Family has published 527 articles. Only 10 or 1.9% were qualitative, either entirely (4) or partly (1), or in a combination of qualitative and quantitative data (5). Four other articles were based on qualitative data, but the results were entirely quantified. These four articles would raise the total of qualitative papers to 15 or 2.8%. These statistics are rather startling, especially when considering that there is a large theoretical literature pertaining to qualitative research, numerous articles and texts on its methods, a rapidly growing body of empirical research with the family field as one of its major beneficiaries (Gilgun, Daly, & Handel, 1992; Rosenblatt & Fischer, 1993), and a well-organized network on qualitative family research, with a newsletter of the same name. JMF, however, is not unique in terms of rarely publishing qualitative articles (see LaRossa & Wolf, 1985; Nye, 1988, on family research). Editorial boards of high-profile journals in family studies, psychology, and sociology are composed of well-published scholars, only a minority of whom are experienced qualitative researchers. The result is that a majority of the qualitative articles submitted have to be evaluated by scholars who have little expertise in qualitative research, or by qualitative researchers who have no expertise in the substantive area of a submitted article or who subscribe to a different epistemology. In contrast, quantitative papers can generally be matched with reviewers who not only understand the methods, but are also knowledgeable in the substantive area covered. It thus becomes important to discuss some of the problems inherent in evaluating qualitative research. Consequently, the focus of this article is practical and not theoretical. We address naturalistic qualitative research in terms of methods. In addition, because qualitative research has become extremely varied, we have limited the purview of this article to epistemologies that involve the observation, interview, or written participation of family members, rather than the analysis or deconstruction of texts, for instance. The statistics presented earlier clearly indicate that JMF is a quantitative journal, with a readership primarily composed of quantitative researchers. We have, therefore, written this article for scholars who are quantitatively oriented: Our vocabulary and material covered reflect this focus. Because several qualitative approaches are included within the vast umbrella of naturalistic fieldwork, we also hope to reach qualitative researchers who are very specialized within one particular epistemology or qualitative approach. In order to retain a certain practical focus, we could not discuss postmodernist approaches. Moreover, because most of us are sociologically trained, the bulk of the literature reviewed falls within this discipline. We use a quantitative/qualitative dichotomy only for heuristic purposes. At a historical juncture where traditional, theoretical, and empirical alignments should at least cohabit and new configurations are appearing (Alexander & Colomy, 1990, p. 56), one can only hope for an improved understanding between advocates of both sets of approaches and a decrease in the either/or dichotomous thinking that devalues the efforts of any one approach to knowledge generation. This hope also extends to adherents of the several distinct qualitative epistemologies. In a first section, we present general information on qualitative research in terms of its goals and procedures. This is followed by a discussion of linkages between epistemologies and methods in qualitative research; our own diverse orientations are outlined at the end of this discussion. In a third section, we broach more specific aspects of the evaluation process. Then we examine frequently encountered problems in the evaluation process, focusing on problems unwittingly created both by reviewers and authors. …

Reconceptualizing marital status as a continuum of social attachment.

Abstract: Marriage is a legal category that may or may not reflect underlying social attachments (Weitzman, 1981). Theoretically marital status is relevant to well-being because it indicates attachment to a significant other (Ross, Mirowsky, & Goldsteen, 1990). Furthermore, marital status may reflect an outdated set of categories. When asked whether they are married, divorced, separated, never married, or widowed, more and more people find that none of these categories accurately describe their situation (Bumpass, Sweet, & Cherlin, 1991). Some people have a partner they are living with, but not in a traditional heterosexual marriage. Others have a partner outside the household. Some live in a household with other adults but without significant social attachments to them. Two people who both report that they are divorced, for example, may differ greatly on their significant social attachments. Reconceptualizing marital status as social attachment may operationalize the underlying concept more directly and explain the effect of marital status on well-being. Compared to people who are married, those who are single, divorced, and widowed have higher levels of depression, anxiety, and other forms of psychological distress (Gore & Mangione, 1983; Gove, Hughes, & Style, 1983; Kessler & Essex, 1982; Ross, Mirowsky, & Goldsteen, 1990). The one exception to the consistent, positive effects of marriage concerns young adults: Very young adults who get married do not experience lower depression levels than those who remain single (Horwitz & White, 1991). The positive effect of marriage on well-being is strong and consistent, and selection of the psychologically healthy into marriage or the psychologically unhealthy out of marriage cannot explain the effect (Booth & Amato, 1991; Horwitz & White, 1991; Menaghan; 1985). Some evidence shows that marriage protects men's psychological well-being more than women's (Gove & Tudor, 1973), although there is also counterevidence that shows that men's advantage over women in psychological well-being is as large or larger among the single, divorced, and widowed (Fox, 1980). Why does marriage improve psychological well-being? The first possibility is social integration. Studies of social relationships typically distinguish between social integration and social support. Social integration is the objective social condition indicative of more or less isolation; social support is the sense of having fulfilling personal relationships (Mirowsky & Ross, 1989). Integration is operationalized generally as the number or presence of other people in the network and, more specifically in family research, in the household. The presence of another adult in the household might explain why marriage improves well-being. A person who lives alone may be isolated from an important network of social and economic ties (Mirowsky & Ross, 1989). These ties may help create a stabilizing sense of security, belonging, and direction. Without them a person may feel lonely and unprotected. Because unmarried people often live alone but married people live with another adult, this could explain why unmarried people are more distressed. Contrary to expectation, however, Hughes and Gove (1981) found that unmarried people who live alone are no more distressed than those who live with other adults. The difference is between married people and others, not between people who live alone and others. The unmarried, living alone or with others, are significantly more distressed than the married. The presence or absence of other adults in the household does not appear to explain the effect of marriage on well-being (Hughes & Gove, 1981). Social support and the quality of relationships more likely explain why marriage is associated with psychological well-being. Compared with being unmarried, marriage provides emotional support--a sense of being cared about, loved, esteemed, and valued as a person. …

A Tutorial in Logistic Regression

Abstract: Logistic regression has, in recent years, become the analytic technique of choice for the multivariate modeling of categorical dependent variables. Nevertheless, for many potentird users this procedure is still relatively arcane. This artile is therefore designed to render this technique more accessible to practicing researchers by comparing it, where possible, to linear regression. I will begin by discussing the modeling of a binary dependent variable. Then I will show the modeling of polytomous dependent variables, considering cases in which the values are alternately unordered, then ordered. Techniques are illustrated throughout using data from the 1993 General Social Survey (GSS). Because these data are widely available, the reader is encouraged t replicate the analyses shown so that he or she can receive a "hands on" tutorial in the techniques. The Appendix presents coding instructions for an exact replication of all analyses in the paper. BINARY DEPENDENT VARIABLES A topic that has intrigued several family researchers is the relationship of marital status to subjective well-being. One indicator of well-being is reported happiness, which will be the focus of our analyses. In the GSS happiness is assessed by a question asking, "Taken all together, how would you say things are these days--would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?" Of the total of 1,606 respondents in the 1993 survey, five did not answer the question. Hence, all analyses in this article are based on the 1,601 respondents providing valid answers to this question. Because this item has only three values, it would not really be appropriate to treat it as interval. Suppose instead, then, that we treat it as dichotomous, coding the variable 1 for those who are not too happy, and 0 otherwise. The mean of this binary variable is the proportion of those in the sample who are "unhappy," which is 178/1,601, or .111. The corresponding proportion of unhappy people in the population, denoted by x, can also be thought of as the probability that a randomly selected person will be unhappy. My focus will be on modeling the probability of unhappiness as a function of marital status, as well as other social characteristics. Why Not OLS? One's first impulse would probably be to use linear regressian, with E(Y) = pi as the dependent variable. The equation would be pi = alpha + beta sub 1 chi sub 1 + beta sub 2 chi sub 2 + ... beta sub K chi sub K . (There is no error term here because the equation is for the expected value of Y, which, of course, is pi.) However, the problems incurred in using OLS have been amply documented (Aldrich & Nelson; 1984; Hanushek Jackson, 1977; Maddala, 983). Three difficulties are paramount: the use of a linear function, the assumption of independence beteen the predictors and the error term, and error heteroskedasticity, or nonconstant variance of the errors across combinatiorrs of predictor values. Briefly, the use of a linear function is problematic because it leads to predicted probabilities outside the range of 0 to 1. The reason for this is that the right-hand side of the regression equation, alpha + Sigma beta sub K chi sub K , is not restricted to fall between 0 and 1, whereas the left-hand side, pi, is. The pseudo-isolation condition (Boen, 1989), requiring the error term to be uncorlated with the predictors, is violated in OLS when a binary dependent variable is used (see Hanushek & Jackson, 1977, or McKelvey & Zavoina, 1975, for a detailed exposition of why this happens). Finally, the error term is inherently heteroskedastic because the error variance is R(1-7c). In that K varies with the values of the predictors, so does the error variance. The Logistic Regression Model Motivation to use the logistic regression model can be generated in one of two ways. The first is through a latent variable apptoach. This is particularly relevant for understanding standardized coefficients and one of the R sup 2 analogs in logistic regression. …

The incidence and frequency of marital sex in a national sample

Abstract: Although marriage is the only context for sexual intercourse that is universally approved, sexual behaviors and attitudes are more likely to be studied outside than inside the marital context. Over 10 years ago, Greenblat (1983) commented that marital sex "remains more the topic of jokes than of serious social scientific investigation" (p. 289). Several recent books based on the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) sex study overviewed sexuality in America and discussed marital sex (Lauman, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994; Michael, Gagnon, Laumann, & Kolata, 1994), but few research articles concerning marital ex have appeared in scholarly journals. Of 553 articles on human sexuality between 1997 and I992 included in the Psychlit database, there was only one article on marital sexuality (Strong & DeVault, 1994). One aspect of marital sex that has consistently been studied is sexual frequency: How often do married couples have sex, and what factors affect this frequency? Scientific interest in the frequency of marital sex usually centers on simple descriptions of sexual behavior, the association of sexual behavior with fertility, and the relationship between sex and the quality of the marriage. Public interest in how often married couples have sex reflects people's curiosity about their own sexual behavior relative to others. Previous research on the frequency of marital sex is based largely on volunteer or self-selected samples and seldom includes participants beyond middle age (even the recent NORC sex survey includes only people under age 60); therefore, the quality and generalizability of the information on sexual frequency are either suspect or limited in scope. In this study we use data from the National Survey of Families and Households to examine marital sexual frequency and the effects of aging, characteristics of the marital relationship, and family background on the incidence and frequency of marital sex. PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON MARITAL INTERCOURSE FREQUENCY A major source of information on marital sexual frequency is the landmark study by Kinsey and his colleagues (Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948; Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin & Gebhard, 1953). With a diverse but nonprobability sample, they found that the median frequency of sexual intercourse per week was 2 to 2.5 times for married individuals under the age of 35. In a more recent national nonprobability study, Blumstein and Schwartz (1983) found that young couples had sex about two or three times per week: Forty-five percent of heterosexual couples married for 2 years or less had sex three times per week or more, and another 38% had sex between one and three times per week. For couples married 2 to 10 years, comparable percentages were 27% and 46%. Questions about the frequency of marital sexual intercourse were also included in large-scale studies of childbearing decisions and fertility, which were conducted with probability samples. These fertility studies (e.g., Trussell Westoff, 1980; Udry, 1980; Westoff, 1974), which surveyed only women, found rates of sexual frequency slightly lower than those reported in the nonprobability sexuality studies. For example, Westoff (1974) found that women under the age of 45 had sex an average of 1.7 times per week. The "sexual revolution" of the 1960s and 1970s did not result in much change in the frequency of marital sex. In the recent NORC survey, the average frequency of sex for sexually active, married respondents under age 60 was seven times a month, or 1.6 times a week (Lauman et al., 1994; Michael et al., 1994). Although the exact average frequency for marital sex varies somewhat across types of studies, one consistent finding from previous research is that respondents who were older or married for a longer period of me reported a frequency lower than respondents who were younger or married for a shorter period of time (Blumstein & Schwartz, 1983; Edwards & Booth, 1976; Greeley, 1991; Hunt, 1974; James, 1983; Kinsey et al. …

Factors That Predispose Middle-Aged Sons and Daughters to Provide Social Support to Older Parents.

Abstract: What accounts for the willingness of adult children to serve the needs of their aging parents? Despite social changes-such as geographic mobility, divorce, and women's participation in the labor force -- that have presumably weakened intergenerational family cohesion, adult children, especially daughters, remain the most prodigious and reliable sources of instrumental social support to their parents (Eggebeen & Hogan, 1990; Lawton, Silverstein, & Bengtson, 1994b; Litwak, 1985) In this analysis we examine the reasons behind such support, and ask whether middle-aged sons and daughters are motivated by similar factors. Longitudinal data collected over three time periods are used to examine gender differences in the degree to which earlier expressions of intergenerational family solidarity and attitudes toward family life influence the propensity of children to provide social support to their elderly parents. II BACKGROUND The life course trajectory of family relationships is increasingly recognized by scholars as an important dimension in studying contemporary family relationships (Bengtson & Allen, 1993). Intergenerational relationships in the older family have been viewed as the culmination of a lifelong pattern of family experiences and exchange. Study of the role of earlier experiences and attitudes in contemporary family relations has generally relied on the retrospective reports of children (Anderson & Stevens, 1993; Simos, 1970; Whitbeck, Simons, & Conger, 1991). For example, Rossi and Rossi (1990) provided evidence that the quality of early family relationships as remembered by adult children influences current feelings of affection and normative obligations toward parents. Whitbeck, Simons, and Conger (1991) found that recollected parental rejection indirectly suppresses the volume of social support provided to parents by diminishing the quality of the contemporary parent-child relationship. While these studies have yielded some promising insights into the life course of the family, longitudinal data is needed to prospectively link earlier expressed values, attitudes, and sentiments in the family with later outcomes, and thus establish causal relationships among the constructs. Research on the family provision of social support to older relatives has a long and rich tradition in social gerontology (e.g., see Shanas, 1979). More recently, there has been a growth in the number of studies that focus exclusively on intergenerational family relationships as sources of support for the elderly. These studies have been made possible by the recent availability of detailed, multigenerational, and sometimes longitudinal data concerning family relations collected in national surveys (Hogan, Eggebeen, & Clogg, 1993; Lawton, Silverstein, & Bengtson, 1994b), in regional surveys (Bengtson Roberts, 1991; Rossi & Rossi, 1990; Spitze & Logan, 1990), and in surveys of ethnically diverse samples of African Americans (Chatters & Taylor, 1993) and Mexican Americans (Markides, Boldt, & Ray, 1986). Such research seeks to better understand the conditions under which social transfers are made between adult generations. In this article we use the construct of social solidarity to characterize the relationships between adult children and their parents. The paradigm of solidarity is widely used to specify variables in empirical studies of family relationships (Atkinson, Kivett, & Campbell, 1986; Bengtson & Roberts, 1991; Roberts & Bengtson, 1990; Rossi & Rossi 1990). We focus on four of the six identified components, or dimensions, of solidarity: functional solidarity, affectual solidarity, normative solidarity, and associational solidarity. While previous research suggests that affectual, normative, and associational forms of solidarity predispose children to provide social support to older parents, studies have rarely taken them into account simultaneously when explaining functional solidarity between generations (see Lee, Netzer, & Coward, 1994). …

Broad and narrow socialization: The family in the context of a cultural theory.

Abstract: The theory of broad and narrow socialization is described, with a particular emphasis on placing family socialization in its cultural context. In cultures characterized by broad socialization, socialization is intended to promote independence, individualism, and self-expression. In contrast, cultures with narrow socialization hold obedience and conformity as their highest values. Seven sources of socialization are described, including family, peers, school/work, community, the media, the legal system, and the cultural belief system. Other considerations are discussed, including variation within cultures (such as gender differences) and the place of attachments. In addition, two examples of applications of the theory are provided. Socialization has received a great deal of attention from social scientists in this century in research and theory on topics such as parenting, peer relations, and education. However, almost all of the research and theorizing in this area has taken modern Western society as its premise and its focus. As a consequence, there has been little theoretical attention to socialization as a cultural process, on the level of the culture as a whole. The present article is intended as a contribution in this direction, to promote a consideration of the cultural context of socialization and to elucidate comparisons and contrasts between cultures in their ways of socialization. In the theory of broad and narrow socialization that I present here, the focus is on differences between cultures in their socialization practices. I also recognize, of course, that socialization practices vary within cultures, but my intent is to draw attention to cultural aspects often overlooked in theories of socialization. The seven sources of socialization specified in the theory of broad and narrow socialization include family, peers, schoolwork, community, the media, the legal system, and the cultural belief system. This theory is an attempt to integrate perspectives from psychology, sociology, and anthropology. BROAD AND NARROW SOCIALIZATION I make a distinction between two general types of cultural socialization, broad and narrow. Cultures characterized by broad socialization encourage individualism, independence, and self-expression, not just through socialization in the family but through other socialization sources as well. In contrast, cultures characterized by narrow socialization hold obedience and conformity as the highest values and discourage deviation from cultural expectations--again, not just through family socialization but through other sources of socialization as well. Broad socialization is broad in the sense that a relatively broad range of individual differences in paths of development can be predicted from socialization practices that emphasize individualism and independence. Narrow socialization is narrow in the sense that a restricted range of variation can be predicted when individuals are pressed toward conformity to a certain cultural standard. This basic contrast in socialization, between an emphasis on individualism and self-expression on the one hand and conformity and obedience on the other, has been a staple of theory and research on parenting in the United States in this century, using a variety of terminology (see Alwin, Xu, & Carson, 1994). Three characteristics that distinguish the present approach are (a) the application of this distinction to socialization outside the family as well, including each of the seven sources described above, (b) the application of this distinction on the level of culture, to general patterns of socialization that can be said to be characteristic of a culture as a whole, and (c) the focus on variance as a way of evaluating empirically the predictive validity of the theory. The focus of this theory is on the range of individual differences that cultures allow or encourage--relatively broad in the case of broad socialization, relatively narrow in the case of narrow socialization. …

Maternal employment, parent involvement, and mathematics achievement among adolescents

Abstract: Of women in the labor force, it is the mothers with children at home whose numbers have grown the fastest in recent decades In 1987, 71% of mothers with husbands present in the household and children between the ages of 6 and 17 years and 57% of those with husbands present and children under 6 were employed In 1973 (roughly the year the students in this study were born), those figures were only 50% and 33%, respectively (US Department of Labor, 1989) The research on the effects of maternal employment on the child indicate mixed results In a review of research on maternal employment and children's achievement for the National Academy of Sciences, Heyns (1982) concluded that "the children of working mothers differ very little from the children of non-working mothers [on achievement]" (p 238) Another review published 2 years before found that there were measurable differences in academic performance and other measures of children's well-being depending on maternal employment status (Hoffman, 1980) Each has maintained and elaborated her position since (Heyns & Catsambis, 1986; Hoffman, 1989) Surely if maternal employment makes a difference to the child it is likely to be exhibited in the parent-child relationships Nock and Kingston (1988), for example, found differences in the amount of time parents spend with their children depending on maternal employment status, although the differences were most pronounced for parents of preschoolers and in non-child-centered time Parents may interact with their child differently, and may in particular be involved in their child's education differently, depending on the employment of the mother outside the home Involvement in education is likely to be very important for school-age children We have very little knowledge about how the relationships between parents and adolescents are influenced by the amount of time the mother spends at work outside the home, and how that may influence the critical transition of the child from elementary to high school This article examines two questions: First, does maternal employment status make a difference in how parents are involved with their eighth-grade adolescent child, and, if so, how? Second, in what ways does parent involvement intervene in the relationship between maternal employment and mathematics achievement of the adolescent child? A better understanding of the ways in which maternal employment makes a difference in parent-child relationships, and of which relationships are important for the child's academic development, will allow us to evaluate how the needs of families are changing Parent involvement in a child's education is known to make a difference in the child's achievement (Epstein, 1991; Fehrmann, Keith, & Reimers, 1987; Lareau, 1989; Muller, 1993a; Stevenson & Baker, 1987) Yet the results of those studies suggest that there are many different ways for parents to be involved with their child And parents may become involved differently depending on the resources available to them (Baker & Stevenson, 1986; Lareau, 1989; Muller, 1993a) Lareau and Muller each suggested that not all forms of parent involvement have the same consequences for the child Moreover, children of different ages may need different kinds of involvement from parents As students get older, a style of "managing" the school career is increasingly important As Baker and Stevenson (1986) stated, "parents musthelp [their child] move skillfully through the [school] organization" (p 157) This may mean reaching out to the school or developing strategies from home To study parent involvement in education is to identify one aspect of the process by which family background makes a difference in a child's academic success Coleman (1988) suggested that family background "is analytically separable into at least three different components: financial capital, human capital, and social capital" (p S109) Financial capital may be measured by family income or wealth, human capital is best measured by the level of parents' education, and social capital has to do with the relations among actors, in this case among parents and children …

Personal relationships during adolescence

Abstract: The Study of Personal Relationships During Adolescence - Raymond Montemayor Relationships During Adolescence - W Andrew Collins and Daniel J Repinski Continuity and Change in Interpersonal Perspective Relationships with Parents in Adolescence - Patricia Noller Process and Outcome Cultural Perspectives on Continuity and Change Across the Contexts of Adolescents' Relationships - Catherine R Cooper 'We're Popular, But We're Not Snobs' - James Youniss, Jeffrey A McLellan and Darcy Strouse Adolescents Describe Their Crowds Casting Adolescent Crowds in a Relational Perspective - B Bradford Brown, Margaret S Mory and David A Kinney Caricature, Channel, and Context Romantic Views - Wyndol Furman and Elizabeth A Wehner Toward a Theory of Adolescent Romantic Relationships Dating Those You Can't Love and Loving Those You Can't Date - Ritch C Savin-Williams Adolescents' Relations with Adults Outside the Family - Nancy Darling, Stephen F Hamilton and Starr Niego Current Theory and Research on Personal Relationships During Adolescence - Raymond Montemayor and Virginia R Gregg

Action-oriented research : models and methods

Abstract: In recent years there has been a growing interest in research approaches that can better inform policy and practice and lead to social action This article describes four models of action-oriented research: action, participatory, empowerment, and feminist research The historical roots, epistemological assumptions, agendas, and methodological strategies of each are discussed Common features and distinguishing characteristics are examined The article concludes by discussing implications derived from action-oriented research for family researchers and other social scientists interested in making their work more relevant to practice, policy, and social action In recent years there has been a growing interest in research approaches that can better inform policy and practice and lead to social action This trend has occurred in response to such factors as a growing frustration among practitioners and policy makers with the lack of relevance of traditional research findings and an increasing desire among many social scientists to conduct research that has greater social relevance A number of research approaches from different social science traditions have evolved independently in response to common frustrations with the inability of traditional positivistic social science methods to inform questions of practice or social action and in response to the emergence of postpositivist epistemological paradigms While these approaches have developed many similar principles of inquiry, the lack of contact among them has delayed recognition of their common themes There are a number of contemporary research approaches that are directly concerned with informing practice and social change Family scholars are probably most familiar with feminist methods (eg, Allen & Baber, 1992; Reinharz, 1992; Thompson, 1992) Other "action-oriented" models include action research, empowerment research, and participatory research These research approaches advocate remarkably similar agendas and share a core of epistemological assumptions and methodological strategies This article describes these four action-oriented forms of research and examines the epistemological assumptions, moral/ethical values, and methodological strategies that characterize each of them The article focuses on commonalties among the four approaches, including their implications for family researchers Examination of the characteristics that distinguish them from conventional, social science research is also included In this article, the term conventional social science research refers to the positivistic scientific paradigm that has dominated the social sciences for the past century Drawing on methods and logic first used in the physical sciences, this approach subsumes notions of causality, objectivity, and quantification with the goal of predicting and controlling human behavior (Prus, 1992) FOUR MODELS OF ACTION-ORIENTED RESEARCH What follows is an examination of the distinguishing characteristics of each of four action-oriented research traditions: action research, participatory research, empowerment research, and feminist research Each approach is introduced by a discussion of its historical origins This is followed by an examination of three aspects germane to any research model: (a) agenda (What are the primary goals of the research? Which research questions are most worth asking? Who are the principal beneficiaries of the research findings?); (b) epistemology (What forms of knowledge are considered scientific? What role do values and ethics play in the research enterprise? Can social science be objective?); and (c) methodology (What are the most commonly used data collection strategies? How are they determined? What role do research subjects and other nonresearchers play in the research process?) These three dimensions of the research process have been selected for heuristic purposes, but they are not mutually exclusive …

The Families of Lesbians and Gay Men: A New Frontier in Family Research

Abstract: To examine the extent to which the family relations of lesbians and gay men are integrated into the family literature, we reviewed over 8,000 articles published between 1980 and 1993 in nine journals that publish family research. Our review shows that research on lesbian and gay families is quite limited, and that, where these families have been studied, they have been problematized and their diversity has been overlooked. We describe and define lesbian and gay families, illustrating their diversity and challenging the neglect of this population in family studies. We direct researchers' attention toward a social ecologies model that incorporates the dynamics of family relationships. We discuss theoretical implications of studying lesbian and gay families, and propose research directions to improve our knowledge of these families and families in general.

Comparing One-Partner and Couple Data on Sensitive Marital Behaviors: The Case of Marital Violence.

Abstract: Data on sensitive marital relationship issues such as marital violence, marital conflicts, or sexuality are often subject to considerable reporting bias This reporting bias can affect validity and prevalence estimates, as well as correlations between the sensitive issue under consideration and other variables Couple data render it possible to assess some (though certainly not all) reporting bias effects on results The following analyses focus on marital violence but are applicable to research on other sensitive topics Many surveys dealing with sensitive marital behaviors, including the 1975 and 1985 National Family Violence Surveys (NFVS), lack empirical evidence on concurrent validity (Egley, 1991; Straus, 1992a) Studies comparing spouses' responses about marital violence have relied on small and often nonrepresentative samples (Jouriles & O'Leary, 1985; Malone, 1992; Szinovacz, 1983) or on clinical populations (Browning & Dutton, 1986; Edleson & Brygger, 1986; Langhinrichsen-Rohling & Vivian, 1994) Results from these studies indicate considerable disagreement between spouses on whether and what types of violence occurred Larger community samples of premarital and recently married couples have revealed moderate disagreement between spouses (McLaughlin, Leonard, & Senchak, 1992; O'Leary et al, 1989) Relations of one-partner and couple data to predictors of violence appeared to be similar However, this latter finding may be due to the small samples used for these studies Given the NFVS' exclusive reliance on one-partner data, further clarification of these issues seems essential This article reassesses these issues on the basis of a nationally representative data set, the National Survey on Families and Households (NSFH) ONE-PARTNER AND COUPLE DATA One-partner data are based on responses from only one marital partner Spouses can give valid information about the other partner for some objective characteristics such as socioeconomic background and marital history However, they usually cannot provide valid data on their partner's attitudes or perceptions of marital relations and interactions, because their attributions to the other partner may differ from responses the partner would have given (Thompson & Walker, 1982) Similar discrepancies may occur in reporting socially disapproved behaviors In contrast, studies relying on couple data obtain information about the same variables from both partners or from interactions between partners Couple data thus allow comparing spouses' answers to the same questions and enable the researcher to assess differences in spouses' perceptions of the marital relationship ("his" and "her" marriage) In addition, couple data permit a dyadic approach to data analysis: Relevant background and attitudinal variables available from both spouses can be used in the analyses Moreover, couple data are usually necessary to measure and/or construct relationship characteristics such as spouses' agreement Finally, couple data are not only of theoretical relevance, they also serve methodological purposes Couple data render it possible to estimate underreporting of socially undesirable behaviors, to assess which variables are associated with underreporting, and to show whether associations between explanatory and dependent variables are affected by selective reporting The focus of this article is on the methodological uses of couple data, applied to the measurement of marital violence DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN SPOUSES' RESPONSES Generally, discrepancies between spouses' answers derive from three sources: random measurement error, systematic measurement error, and differences between spouses' perceptions of the relationship In studies relying on self-reports, random measurement error is typically caused by ambiguities in the questions or scale items For example, if a scale item refers to several behaviors (eg, hit or throw things at the other), one spouse may answer in regard to the first behavior (hitting), whereas the other spouse may refer to both (hitting and throwing) …

The divorce process and young children's well-being : a prospective analysis

Abstract: The US National Longitudinal Study of Youth-Child supplement (NLSY) was used to generate a sample of 1123 children 3-13 years old in 1986 for examining the consequences of divorce on behavior problems and academic achievement for young children. Children included must have been born within wedlock and living in intact families in 1986. The study focus was on answering whether child or family circumstances prior to disruption account for any of the negative association between marital disruption and child well being and how specific changes in life circumstances after disruption mediate the effects of divorce. A brief background review of pertinent literature is given. Limitations are that the sample of children experiencing disruption was small (129) and are not representative of all children; the sample of mothers tends to reflect younger and disadvantaged backgrounds. Generalizability of results is limited by the definition of children included. Child assessments are available but absent are direct measures of family conflict or parental psychological functioning. Child well being is measured by the Behavior Problems Index (BPI) and 3 Peabody Achievement tests (PIAT). Family disruption is the experience of separation or divorce between 1986 and 1988. The average time since disruption was 12.2 months. The childs early development and environment are also accounted for. Life changes included change in the home environment and downward mobility. The ordinary least squares findings show that the mean scores were lower for those in disrupted families. Boys experienced greater behavior problems and mathematics scores; 42% of boys in disrupted families scored a half deviation above the mean vs. 25% for other boys. For girls 29% in disrupted families vs. 17% for other girls fell into below average categories. The likelihood of shifting from lower to higher BPI scores for both boys and girls was associated with disruption as well as higher to lower scores for boys and from higher to lower scores on the 2 reading tests for girls. Maternal risk factors economic hardship and child difficulties as proxies for family dysfunction are accounted for in several models to determine the adverse effect on childrens outcomes. It is suggested that the effect of the breakup and aftermath on boys behavior problems may be greater during the crisis period than later and stronger on young children. Changes in family circumstances are less important in explaining math scores than behavior problems. The role of disruption vs. prior characteristics still needs further examination; longterm effects also need to be examined.

Social sources of change in children's home environments: The effects of parental occupational experiences and family conditions.

Abstract: This study investigates change in children's home environments as a function of change in parental occupational and family conditions. It uses data from the 1986 and I988 mother-child supplements to the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) on 1,403 mothers with children aged 3 through 6 in 1986 to estimate mulivariate regression equations predicting changes in home environments as a function of intervening occupational and family changes. All analyses control for parents' background and education, maternal ethnicity, child gender, and child health. The birth of additional children, marital termination, and mother remaining unmarried have generally negative effects on children's home environments. The effect of mothers' beginning employment varies depending on the occupational complexity of her employment: Beginning a job that is low in complexity is associated with worsening home environments. The generally negative effect of remaining unmarried also varies depending on mothers' employment status and the quality of employment, being more positive for mothers employed at higher wages and more negative for mothers who remain without employment. Children's immediate family environments are a potent source of both cognitive stimulation and affective experience, and have important consequences both for children's later cognitive skills and academic achievement (Bradley, 1985; Bradley & Caldwell, 1987; Bradley, Caldwell, & Rock, 1988; Ketterlinus, Henderson, & Lamb, 1991; Parcel & Menaghan, 1990) and for their emotional well-being and behavior problems (Rogers, Parcel, & Menaghan, 1991). Indeed, the quality of parent-child relations and the quality of the home environment that parents provide are important means by which parents' social experiences and position affect their children's life chances (Dubow & Luster, 1990; Ketterlinus et al., 1991; Menaghan & Parcel, 1990; Rogers et al., 1991). It is important to consider how parents' ability to provide optimal home environments may shift over time as a function of parents' changing occupational and family circumstances. Bronfenbrenner (1986) noted that studies of human development have focused on how family environments affect children, with relatively less attention to consideration of the extrafamilial influences on parents' capacity to foster their children's development. Studies in the psychological and educational literatures have emphasized the effects of stable maternal attributes on home environments, particularly mothers' educational attainment, IQ, and ethnicity, as well as family composition, particularly father presence and family size (Bradley, 1985; Bradley, Caldwell, & Rock, 1988). This emphasis implies that the quality of home environments will be relatively stable over time, with relatively disadvantaged families persisting in providing suboptimal home environments and vice versa. But evidence for this assumption of stability is meager: Bradley and Caldwell (1987) characterized the quality of home environments as only "moderately stable" through the first few years, and also reported that stability varied for differing groups of children and was lower for non-Whites and for boys. We identify several sources of potential change in the quality of home environments, especially for very young parents and children. For many families, children's early years are punctuated by multiple changes both in their parents' work lives and in their family composition; Namboodiri (1987) referred to early adulthood as "the floundering phase of the life course." Young parents are apt to make multiple changes in employers and job demands during their early work lives, often interspersed by periods of unemployment or underemployment (see also Rindfuss, Swicegood, & Rosenfeld, 1987). The likelihood of such changes is likely to be especially great for young parents with fewer resources and less favorable attributes. …

The role of family emotional expressiveness in the development of children's social competence

Abstract: Social competence is important for obtaining and maintaining social and academic success, and for mental health and personal adjustment in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Problematic peer relationships have been shown to predict such extreme outcomes as school drop out, criminality, and psychopathology (Parker & Asher, 1987). Several aspects of emotion, such as encoding and decoding, emotion regulation, and emotional expressiveness (Cassidy, Parke, Butkovsky, & Braungart, 1992; Hubbard & Coie, 1994; Parke, Cassidy, Burks, Carson, & Boyum, 1992) have been suggested as antecedents of peer competence. There has been increasing interest in exploring the antecedents of children's social behaviors, particularly in examining, family influences on the development of these behaviors (Parke & Ladd, 1992). The focus of this report is on the role of family emotion in the emergence of children's social competence. The family provides the first context for the recognition and communication of affective messages. Family members send affective messages to the child, with increasing expectation that the child will be able to interpret and respond to them. As the child moves outside of the immediate family environment, she will likely encounter others who do not share contextual cues with the child's family, do not share all of the same display rules, and who may be less willing to make the extra effort to understand the child. In addition, these people may communicate their own needs to the child in ways that may be less clear than those the child has experienced at home. Thus, it is to the child's advantage to be well versed in emotion skills as she moves beyond the confines of the family. Several studies have demonstrated a connection between parent-child interactions in structured game or physical play situations and children's social status with peers (e.g., Barth & Parke, 1993; MacDonald & Parke, 1984; Putallaz, 1987). It may be that through engaging in affectarousing encounters such as physical play, the child learns the communicative value of affect and how to use such displays to understand and regulate others (Parke et al., 1992). Physical play allows for many opportunities to learn to encourage or discourage interaction through affective expression. Past research has focused on the type of affective display used by parents during their interactions with their children. Several studies have found that children who are exposed to higher levels of parental negative affect are less well accepted by their peers, while high levels of parental positive affect are associated with greater peer acceptance (Carson, 1991; MacDonald Parke, 1984). It is assumed that children who learn to use high levels of negative affect in interaction with peers are less well accepted. Those who use more positive affect are more accepted by their age mates (Hubbard & Coie, 1994). Several limitations characterize these earlier studies. First, the studies have been conducted primarily in laboratory situations and have relied on structured games or physical play situations. One goal of the present study is to explore the generalizability of prior findings by observing family affective exchanges during an ecologically valid situation, namely a family dinner. Second, affect has been measured primarily through the use of global rating scales, rather than specific affect categories. Prior research has revealed the value of focusing on specific affective dimensions for understanding both marital and parent-child interaction patterns (Gottman, 1994; Gottman & Katz, 1989). This work and related studies (Roberts & Strayer, 1987) have suggested that not all forms of negative affect have similar effects. While harsh, angry affect is clearly associated with negative outcomes, moderate levels of negative affect may have more positive social outcomes. In this study, we assume that exposure to moderate levels of negative affect may allow children opportunities to learn to regulate negative affect, which is an important social skill (Gottman & Katz, 1989; Sroufe, 1979). …

Marriage, sex, and mortality

Abstract: This study endeavors to illuminate the relations between marital status and length of life among 36142 [U.S.] individuals between the ages of 25 and 64 from two combined national data sets. Case-control methodology is used to compare individuals who died in 1986 with those who survived the year. Specific causes of death are also examined. Results from logistic regression analysis indicate that marital status differentially affects mortality but not in a social vacuum. Instead marital status and income both influence mortality. In addition sex is found to interact with marital status and with both overall mortality and cause-specific mortality. The findings reveal variations by sex and by marital status for social pathologies such as homicide and cirrhosis of the liver. (EXCERPT)

Juggling jobs and kids: The impact of employment schedules on fathers' caring for children.

Abstract: Gender equality in the future depends partly on how women and men combine employment and family responsibilities in the present. The decisions that mothers and fathers make about work and family, especially about how they care for their children, help shape children's cognitive maps, social behavior, and personal expectations. Parents, in everything they do, from the jobs they choose to the way they allocate household chores, provide powerful models of female and male behavior for their children. Although the traditional arrangement of a father working outside the home and a mother staying home full-time is less typical of families today than it was 25 years ago, women are still the principal childrearers and men are the major breadwinners (Hochschild, 1989). Thus, parents, inadvertently or intentionally, prepare their children for similar future roles in the economy and the family by reinforcing gender traits such as independence in boys and mothering in girls (Chodorow, 1978; Gilligan, 1982). Several scholars claim that only when fathers fully share childrearing and caregiving with mothers will the cycle of gender inequality be broken (Chodorow, 1978; Gilligan, 1982). The potential effects of fathering on the gender role conceptions of daughters and sons and on gender inequality are not the only reasons for encouraging men's participation in child care. Gender differences in parenting styles appear to have substantial effects on the socialization and well-being of children (Pruett, 1993; Starrels, 1994); fathers' involvement in childrearing is related to better outcomes for their children in terms of academic achievement, social competence, and self-esteem (see Russell & Radin, 1983). Likewise, mothers benefit from men's participation in raising children; fathers who take a major responsibility for child care ease the burden of the "second shift" for employed mothers, and they reduce maternal "stress from work overload, anxiety about adequate childcare and supervision, and a shortage of time for rest and leisure" (Hoffman, 1983, p. 174). Fathers who are actively involved in caring for their children may enjoy the positive effects of multiple roles, closer father-child bonds, and enhanced husband-wife relationships (Russell & Radin, 1983). Men, like women, who combine different life roles, such as worker, parent, and spouse, may be better off emotionally than are those with fewer life roles (Crosby, 1991). Although most fathers in the United States avoid primary responsibility for child care, many fathers do take care of their children on a regular basis. In fact, nearly 3 million children of employed mothers, currently married and otherwise, were cared for primarily by their fathers in 1988 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992). Nevertheless, the proportion of children principally cared for by their father has remained relatively stable since the 1970s; among children of dual-earning married couples, 16.8% of preschool-age children and 8.7% of children aged 5 to 14 relied on their father as their primary caregiver in 1988 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992). What prevents more fathers from taking greater responsibility for child care on a regular basis? Contrary to popular belief, it is not a lack of paternal desire or ideological commitment alone. Some researchers speculate that many fathers would increase their involvement with children if the time demands of their jobs were reduced (Barnett & Baruch, 1988). Although the number of hours a father spends in paid work may negatively affect his domestic responsibilities (Coverman, 1985; Davis & Sanik, 1991), the mere amount of job time in and of itself does not explain why some fathers do and others do not care for their children. The scheduling of paid work--when and how often a father works in terms of whether the hours are regular or rotating, on weekdays or weekends, and during the day or night--provides a more useful framework for understanding the relationship between employment and child care (see Nock & Kingston, 1988; Pleck & Staines, 1985; Presser, 1989; Staines & Pleck, 1983). …

Gender ideology, marital disruption, and the employment of married women

Abstract: After peaking around 1980, period rates of divorce seem to have stabilized in the United States. Nonetheless, there is still a great deal of theoretical and empirical interest in the determinants of marital instability. Conventional wisdom has long linked marital instability to the employment of married women, but the empirical findings in this literature are far from unequivocal. One of the more consistent findings is the effect of wife's employment: Nearly every empirical study suggests that there is a positive monotonic relationship between marital instability and the wife's number of hours employed per week. There are several different kinds of effects of wives' paid employment on marital stability presented in the literature. One school of thought holds that there is something inherent in the employment of married women that serves to destabilize the marriage, for example, by upsetting traditional marriage norms or by decreasing the husband's marital satisfaction. Another line of reasoning argues that the employment of married women and the expectation of continuing employment outside of marriage serves to make divorce more attractive. This viewpoint posits the employment of wives as a facilitating factor in divorce, not actually producing marital conflict but making divorce more likely for those couples for whom conflict already exists. The so-called "absence effect" argues that employment outside the home takes the wife away from traditional homemaking responsibilities, with possible effects of increasing stress and conflict within the marriage. Whether this explanation is correct or not, the effect of hours worked outside the home is well documented in the empirical literature. Mott and Moore (1979) found a positive relationship between number of hours of paid employment and probability of divorce for White women but not for Black women: White women who are employed 35 hours per week or more have a 60% greater risk of marital disruption over a 5-year period. Huber and Spitze (1980) found that wife's work history is positively related to thoughts of divorce. Greene and Quester (1982) observed that women in groups at high risk for divorce are more likely to be in the labor force, more likely to have higher wages, and more likely to work more hours than women in low-risk groups. Booth, Johnson, White, and Edwards (1984) found that total hours on the job and being employed over 40 hours per week are associated with a construct measuring marital instability. Spitze and South (1985) found that number of hours paid employment is significantly related to probability of divorce for women who work at least 35 hours per week (not controlling for income), while South and Spitze (1986) observed that being in the labor force and number of hours employed are related to divorce. Greenstein (1990) found that women who are employed more than 35 hours per week have more than twice the risk of marital disruption of women who are employed 20-35 hours per week, net of income, relative earnings ratio, and other factors. Greenstein also noted that the negative effect of hours employed on marital stability is partially offset by the positive effects of wives' income. A shortcoming in this literature is the implicit assumption made by most researchers that the stability of all marriages is affected in the same manner and at approximately the same level of magnitude by the wife's employment. However, those studies that have examined interactions of wives' employment characteristics with other variables have tended to find that the effects of wives' employment do vary. Analyzing the effects of hours employed separately for marriages varying in categories of children present, family income, and husband's attitude toward his wife's employment, Spitze and South (1985) found the effects strongest for childless women and women with preschoolers, for women in medium-and high-income families, and for women who perceive that their husbands disapprove of their employment, while Vannoy and Philliber (1992) found that gender role attitudes interact with wives' employment characteristics in terms of their effects on perceived marital quality. …

Belief and behavior: Does religion matter in today's marriage?

Abstract: In this study the impact of changes in religiosity on marital quality and vice versa is examined. Using longitudinal data from a national sample of married persons, we assess the extent to which changes in religious involvement influence marital quality and the extent to which changes in marital quality affect religiosity. Because most prior studies of this topic have been cross-sectional, our work fills a major research gap. We address two questions: (a) Do changes in religiosity alter marital quality or vice versa, and (b) if either change occurs, what aspects of marital quality and religiosity are involved? Social scientists have a long history of research attempting to explain how religious sentiments direct social action (e.g., Davidson, 1972; Moberg, 1982; see Warner, 1993 for a careful review of early work on the topic). Ever since the 19th century, theorists--most notably Durkheim --have examined the way in which beliefs about the supernatural direct, legitimate, and support social activity (Turner, 1991; Wilson, 1982). More recently, however, scholars have questioned religion's capacity to serve as a socially integrative force in contemporary society, emphasizing that modernization has diminished the power of religious institutions to exercise social control (D'Antonio, 1983; Hargrove, 1983, p. 44). The relation between religion and families is one key area in which the question of religion's social integrative function is at issue. Noting that traditional conceptions of marital obligations based on external controls have been eroded by modernization, scholars have suggested that religious institutions might come to play a different role than that of negative social control. Rather than attempting to reinforce traditional conceptions of marital obligations, some theorists have argued that religious institutions need to provide support and nurturance for the patterns of family life as they currently exist (Aldous, 1983; D'Antonio, 1983; Hargrove, 1983). Although Aldous, D'Antonio, and Hargrove prescribed this development and did not observe it happening in any substantial way, cross-sectional studies show contemporary religion to be modestly related to marital well-being (e.g., Albrecht, 1979; Bahr & Chadwick, 1985; Ellison, 1991; Glenn & Supancic, 1984; Greeley, 1991; Pollner, 1989; Wilson & Filsinger, 1986). One of the most intriguing studies on this topic is reported in Judith Stacey's book, Brave New Families (1990), an in-depth study of two working-class women's families residing in the Silicon Valley. Both women have strong feminist views, which are reflected in their approach to finding and keeping their jobs. At the same time, both are converts to a paternalistic fundamentalist religion in which they are actively involved. While the juxtaposition of the two behaviors challenges our predilection to see consistency in attitudes and social processes, the benefits of the two streams of behavior are clear for the women studied. According to Stacey, the feminist views and the support to and from other women that they entail helped the two women get and keep jobs and deal with unemployment. The fundamentalist religion improved their marriage and family life. The rise in religious participation appeared to increase the male's (and to some extent the female's) ability to hold a steady job, drink less, and be less abusive in relations with family and spouse. Though the study has limited generalizability, it reveals religion as a source of support and strength in nontraditional family life. One of the study's further strengths is its longitudinal design. Stacey was able to track the women in her study during the course of their conversion to a fundamentalist religion. Unlike the cross-sectional researchers, however, Stacey is the first to associate a change in religiosity with improved marital quality. Parallel changes increase the probability that the observed relationship between changes in religiosity and marital quality are causal in nature. …

The Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication

Abstract: Contents: Part I: Amusing & Bemusing. B.H. Spitzberg, W.R. Cupach, Disentangling the Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication. Part II: Schmoozing, Choosing, and Confusing. L. Knobloch, The Dark Side of Relational Uncertainty: Obstacle or Opportunity. T. Afifi, W. Afifi, J. Caughlin, The Dark Side (and Light Side) of Avoidance and Secrets. M. Whitty, Manipulation of Self in Cyberspace. Part III: Bruising. A.L. Vangelisti, Communicating Hurt. W.R. Cupach,"You're Bugging Me!": Complaints and Criticism From a Partner. R.M. Kowalski, Teasing and Bullying. Part IV: (Mis)Using, Accusing, and Excusing. M. Tafoya, B.H. Spitzberg, The Dark Side of Infidelity: Its Nature, Scope, and Communicative Functions. S. Metts, W.R. Cupach, Responses to Relational Transgressions: Hurt, Anger, and Sometimes Forgiveness. Part V: Abusing. S. Yoshimura, The Communication of Revenge: On the Viciousness, Virtues, and Vitality of Vengeful Behavior in Interpersonal Relationships. R. Dailey, C. Lee, B. Spitzberg, Communicative Aggression: Toward a More Interactional View of Psychological Abuse. W. Morgan, S.R. Wilson, Explaining Child Abuse as a Lack of Safe Ground. N. Eckstein, Adolescent-to-Parent Abuse: Exploring the Communicative Patterns Leading to Verbal, Physical, and Emotional Abuse.

Racial Differences in Men's Attitudes about Women's Gender Roles

Abstract: The attitudes that men and women hold toward appropriate gender roles have a significant influence on many aspects of marital and family dynamics. They also help to perpetuate gender-differentiated opportunities in employment, education, politics, and other areas. For women and girls, a substantial body of literature has documented the formation of gender role attitudes, the transmission of attitudes across generations (especially from their mothers), and the structural factors that modify existing attitudes and beliefs (Blee & Tickamyer, 1986; Boyd, 1989; Stevens & Boyd, 1980; Thornton, Alwin, & Camburn, 1983). Far less research has examined the attitudes of men or boys, how these attitudes are formed and changed over time, and how mothers influence this development. Yet, it is clear that, both in the family and in the larger society, men as well as women participate in the definition and perpetuation of gender roles. Recent scholarship suggests that male attitudes toward gender roles are more complicated than has been commonly assumed. Rather than a single standard of masculinity to which all men and boys are taught to aspire, studies have documented a variety of masculinities that define manhood differently across racial, ethnic, class, sexual, and regional boundaries (Connell, 1993; Franklin, 1994; Segal, 1993). Moreover, some evidence suggests that men's attitudes toward feminine gender roles also vary. The idea that women's roles should be circumscribed by home and family may reflect only a narrow segment of White, middle-class, heterosexual men; other groups of men may accept wider or different roles for women (Messner, 1993). The present study examines male attitudes toward women's gender roles and the influence of maternal and life course factors on these attitudes by examining data from pairs of African American and White mothers and their sons over time. We first describe existing research on the formation and nature of gender roles and race differences in men's gender role attitudes. We then formulate hypotheses about the factors that shape male gender role attitudes and test these with data on over 500 mother-son pairs from the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) of Mature Women and Young Men from 1967 to 1981. We take advantage of the longitudinal nature of the NLS data, which permits examination of maternal and life course effects on the gender role attitudes of African American and White men during late adolescence and early adulthood. RACE DIFFERENCES AMONG MEN The ways in which gender role attitudes are formed, and how they are modified over time by life experience, may differ significantly across racial groups. Studies of women and girls have found racial differences in the definition of appropriate feminine gender roles, with African American women and girls more likely than their White counterparts to see paid employment as compatible with maternal and familial responsibilities (Collins, 1987, 1990; King, 1988; see also Herring & Wilson-Sadberry, 1993). Even the process through which mothers socialize daughters into gender roles attitudes is racially specific. The attitudes of White daughters are influenced significantly by their mothers' attitudes but not by mothers' employment history; for African American daughters, it is maternal employment--but not attitudes--that affect gender role attitudes (Blee & Tickamyer, 1986). The few studies of African American and White men's gender roles suggest that masculinity, too, may be formed and defined within racial categories. Hunter and Davis (1992), for example, concluded that African American men do not equate masculinity with success, wealth, ambition, and power, but rather with self-determinism and accountability. Research that has found that White men are more likely than African American men to see marriage as a necessary component of an adult masculine role also suggests racially specific constructions of masculinity (Bulcroft & Bulcroft, 1993; South, 1993). …

Predicting change in marital satisfaction from husbands' and wives' conflict resolution styles.

Abstract: Identifying what specific conflict resolution styles are linked to change in marital satisfaction is important because managing conflict is one of the central tasks of maintaining a marriage (Gottman, 1994) and because declines in marital satisfaction herald a series of processes indicative of a deteriorating marriage (Gottman & Levenson, 1992). Findings regarding the concurrent link between conflict resolution styles and marital satisfaction have been consistent in indicating that each spouse's marital satisfaction is positively related to the frequency with which each spouse uses constructive strategies to resolve conflict (such as agreement, compromise, and humor) and negatively related both to the frequency with which each spouse uses destructive strategies to resolve conflict (such as conflict engagement, withdrawal, and defensiveness) and to the joint frequency with which the wife uses conflict engagement and the husband uses withdrawal (the "demand-withdraw" pattern). This pattern of findings has been obtained regardless of whether conflict resolution styles were assessed by means of brief behavioral observations (Gottman & Krokoff, 1989; Heavey, Layne, & Christensen, 1993; Noller, Feeney, Bonnell, & Callan, 1994) or by means of self-report and partner-report questionnaire data (Christensen, 1988; Heavey et al., 1993; Huston & Vangelisti, 1991; Noller et al., 1994). Given that the concurrent link between conflict resolution styles and marital satisfaction is well-established, researchers have used longitudinal data to assess the plausibility of two causal relations involving conflict resolution styles and marital satisfaction. The first causal relation--the assumption that the use of certain conflict resolution styles causes marital satisfaction--is based on interdependence theory (Rusbult, 1983) which posits that perceived rewards to a relationship (such as the frequent use of constructive conflict resolution strategies) and perceived costs to the relationship (such as the frequent experience of negative conflict resolution styles) determine satisfaction with the relationship. The longitudinal data consistent with this causal relation would indicate that the frequency with which certain conflict resolution styles are used at Time 1 predicts change in marital satisfaction. The second causal relation--the assumption that the level of marital satisfaction is causally related to the frequency with which certain conflict resolution styles are used--is based on self-fulfilling prophecy theory (e.g., Snyder, Tanke, & Berscheid, 1977) which posits that one's attitude (e.g., level of satisfaction with the marriage) provides a psychological environment that elicits behavior (e.g., conflict resolution styles) that reinforces and is consistent with the initial attitude. The longitudinal data consistent with this causal relation would indicate that the level of marital satisfaction at Time 1 predicts the degree of change in the frequency with which certain conflict resolution styles are used. Unfortunately, longitudinal findings relevant to the plausibility of either causal relation have been inconsistent (Gottman & Krokoff, 1989; Heavey et al., 1993; Huston & Vangelisti, 1991; Noller et al., 1994). In part, this could be due to four methodological and two conceptual limitations of these studies. Regarding the methodological limitations, first, because Gottman and Krokoff (1989) and Heavey et al. (1993) used measures of marital satisfaction that also tapped frequency of conflict and disagreement, the correlations from these measures may have been inflated (see review by Fincham & Bradbury, 1987). Second, only Huston and Vangelisti (1991) reported that marital satisfaction scores changed appreciably over the time interval studied, raising the possibility that, in the other studies, a restriction of range accounted for nonsignificant findings. Third, because the first assessments made by Huston and Vangelisti (1991) and Noller et al. …

Assessing longitudinal change in marriage : an introduction to the analysis of growth curves

Abstract: Fundamental topics in understanding marriage involve issues of development and change. For example, determining the causes of marital distress requires that marital quality be examined repeatedly in marriages that may be deteriorating or remaining satisfied over time. Investigating the effects of the transition to parenthood on marriage calls for describing the course of individual marriages across that transition. Evaluating interventions designed to alleviate or prevent-marital discord necessitates assessing the trajectory of marriages before and after treatment. Many other important marital variables, such as ways of dealing with conflict, depression, and the occurrence of stressful events, can be characterized similarly by their stability or change over time, suggesting that marriage, from any perspective, is an inherently temporal phenomenon. Progress in addressing questions about marriage therefore will depend on the quality of available techniques for assessing marriages overtime. The increasing use of longitudinal designs among marital researchers suggests a growing consensus on the importance of examining marriages across time (see Berscheid, 1994; Bradbury & Karney, 1993). However, a recent review of 115 longitudinal studies of marriage (Karney & Bradbury, 1995) reveals a surprising lack of consensus on how best to analyze longitudinal data in this domain. To date, at least 18 statistical techniques have been used to estimate longitudinal effects on marriage. Over 70% of the longitudinal studies of marriage use procedures that analyze only two waves of data (e.g., zero-order correlations, t tests, analysis of variance) and, perhaps as a result of the reliance on such techniques, more than half of these studies collect only two waves of data. Multiple waves of data, when they have been collected, are typically analyzed as a series of two-wave designs. A common approach is to use variance in a measure taken at Time 1 to account for variance in later marital outcomes. To the extent that Time 1 factors account for variance in outcomes measured at a later time, those factors are said to affect marriage over time. Regardless of how they are analyzed, data obtained in two-wave designs are limited in their ability to illuminate how marriages change. One limitation is that analyses based on two waves of data may not reflect how marriages are actually experienced. Change in relationships is "a constant process" (Furman, 1984, p. 29), and theorists have suggested that "continuity over time" is the characteristic that distinguishes a relationship from a "mere series of interactions" (Duck & Sants, 1983, p. 39; see also Kelley et al., 1983). The focus on associations between initial measurements and final outcomes does not address the continuity of marriage and instead yields a static view of marriage as a series of discrete "snapshots" linked by incremental changes. By failing to describe or account for the patterns of development that underlie those changes, common methods of analyzing longitudinal data may be overlooking a defining feature of marriage. A separate methodological problem with these approaches is that "two waves of data contain an extremely limited amount of information about the change of each individual" (Rogosa, Brant, & Zimowski, 1982, p. 729). Estimates of longitudinal relationships based on only two waves of data are therefore likely to be unreliable. These problems led Willett (1988) to contend that the inability of current data analysis techniques to describe change as a continuous process "has prevented empirical researchers in the social sciences from entertaining a richer, broader spectrum of research questions, questions that deal with the nature of individual development" (p. 347). Addressing such questions requires that marital researchers approach data collection and data analysis with the view that change is a continuous process. With respect to data collection, this involves assessing marriages repeatedly over significant periods of time with measures that retain their validity across time. …

The Effect of Parental Supportive Behaviors on Life Satisfaction of Adolescent Offspring

Abstract: Interest in studying parent-child relationships has a long history that is reflected in a large and rich literature. In recent years, measures of parenting style have improved (Barber, Olsen, & Shagle, 1994; Hollier, 1989; Young, 1993), and, because of the increased availability of national data sets, it has been possible to utilize larger, more representative samples of children and their families. In contrast, few studies have addressed life satisfaction in childhood and adolescence. Those few studies that have explored correlates and predictor of life satisfaction in young people consistently report the importance of the parent-child relationship as the strongest predictor of life satisfaction in adolescent offspring (e.g., Armsden & Greenberg, 1987; Huebner, 1991; Leung & Leung, 1992; Man, 1991). The purpose of e present study is to examine the relationship between specific parental supportive behaviors and children's perceptions of well-being. This study also examines the differential effects of mothers' and fathers' supportive behaviors as predictors of life satisfaction in sons and daughters. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Because of the perceived importance of the parent-child relationship, considerable research has examined the influence of parenting behaviors on child outcomes. Comprehensive reviews of parenting research (most recently those of Peterson & Rollins, 1987, and Demo, 1992) have consistently shown two important dimensions of parenting style: support and control. The support dimension typically consists of the positive affective characteristics of the parent-child relationship. Parent Support Rollins and Thomas (1979) defined parental support as "behavior manifest by a parent toward a child that makes the child feel comfortable in the presence of the parent and confirms in the child's mind that he is basically accepted and approved as a person by the parent" (p, 320). The support construct typically consists of variables such as acceptance, open communication, expressive and instrumental affection, nurturance, rapport, responsiveness, and companionship (Barber & Thomas, 1986; Rhoner, 1986). Rollins and Thomas (1979) viewed support as a continuous, quantitative, unidimensional variable. More recently, however, other researchers (Barber & Thomas, 1986; Felson & Zielinski, 1989; Rhoner, 1986) described parental support as multifaceted in nature. Recent research also indicates that parental support is an important antecedent in the development of positive attitudes of children towards themselves and their life circumstances (Barber et al. 1994; Barber Thomas, 1986; Felson & Zielinski, 1989). Life Satisfaction Life satisfaction is generally described as a feeling of well-being with one's self and life circumstances. Life satisfaction measures are currently being evaluated as correlates, as predictors, and as the outcome of interest in studies focusing on children and adolescents (Hollinger & Fleming, 1988; Huebner, 1991; Leung & Leung, 1992; Man, 1991). Ryff (1989), noting a lack of theoretical grounding in research focusing on psychological well-being, tied theory-guided concepts of well-being to the empirical literature. She found other measures of psychological well-being (e.g., self-esteem, morale, and affect) to be positively related to life satisfaction measures, indicating clear linkages between those theoretical constructs and the empirical findings. Ryff concluded that prior studies tended to emphasize short-term well-being (e.g., happiness), as opposed to more enduring characteristics (e.g., life satisfaction) of psychological well-being. Others have also noted correlations between specific measures of subjective well-being--such as expressiveness and a sense of confidence (Hollinger Fleming, 1988), self-concept (Leung & Leung, 1992), and self-esteem, internal locus of control, and extroversion (Heubner, 1991)--and life satisfaction measures. …

The place of feminism in family studies

Abstract: In this article, we as the question: What is the place of feminism in family studies? Scholars often take stock of their discipline. They search for what is there and what is missing, what concepts, theories, questions, and methods are at the center and margins, and what directions for future scholarship hold the most promise. Taking stock is an essential practice for feminist scholars who want to work at the center, yet retain the right to be critical, of their discipline. They need to know how they fit into the discipline as a whole. Family scholars who do not think of themselves as feminist ought to know how feminism shapes their discipline, and how their discipline accommodates and resists the contributions of feminism. Ten years ago, we wrote a "state of the field" article about feminism and family studies (Walker & Thompson, 1984). We searched for evidence of feminism in family studies journals, coded articles as feminist or not feminist, and charted the progress of feminism with a tally. We also considered whether feminism was compatible with positivist social science, A decade later, we wanted to revisit feminism and family studies, but the landscape had changed so much that we could not use the same markers to find our way. We had to find new ways to approach the place of feminism in family studies. The field of family studies is changing, feminism is changing, and both of us, as scholars, are changing. We are in the midst of a transformation. In the middle of such change, it is hard to find the place of feminism in family studies. In 1984, we thought we could chart the progress of feminism in family studies with categories, counting, and strong conclusions. A decade later, we find it useful to think about challenges, contradictions, tensions, and themes. In the midst of transformation, we cannot make straightforward statements about whether feminism is at the center or margins of family studies. Our answer depends on where we stand, at a particular moment, and where we look. Family studies is moving into an era in which many scholars recognize the contextualism of our knowledge (Doherty, Boss, LaRossa, Schumm, & Steinmetz, 1993). Scholars who advocate a contextual approach emphasize diversity among families and consider how their knowledge of families is limited by their own values and context. As Doherty and his colleagues (1993) noted, feminism helped push family studies toward this postpositivist stance. They also noted that journals may be the last stronghold of positivism in family studies, the most resistant to change. At the same time, feminism is changing. It is opening up to a wide range of ways to be a feminist and to do feminist scholarship. The boundaries between scholarship that is feminist and scholarship that is not feminist are blurred, making it perilous to classify a given piece of work. The category of feminism changes historically, and what we do to-make a feminist contribution to scholarship changes. Rapping (1994) noted that, at one time, feminists could talk of "we" and "them." "We" meant a common feminist voice who spoke for the good of women, and "them" meant a hostile and ignorant world. Those days are gone. It is no longer we and them, and there is no common feminist voice about how to study and accomplish what is "good for women," including women in families. Family studies and feminism are more diverse and inclusive in 1995 than they were a decade ago. Diversity and inclusiveness create new tensions in out discipline and make it difficult to draw unequivocal conclusions about the place of feminism in family studies. How, then, did we go about analyzing the place of feminism in family studies for the present article? We approached the question in a spirit of diversity and inclusion. Between the two of us, we considered every article published in Journal of Marriage and the Family (JMF), Family Relations (FR), and Journal of Family Issues (JFI) in the decade spanning 1984 to 1993. …

Toward a Biopsychosocial Model of Domestic Violence.

Abstract: This study aimed to develop a biopsychosocial model of male domestic violence through an examination of 102 married men. The participants were interviewed and their blood serum was analyzed for testosterone and prolactin levels as well as for illicit drug use. There were 34 subjects identified as violent males with a mean age of 34.76 and married for an average of 8.15 years. A Tobit analysis of male violence toward a female intimate using the biological variables resulted in a significant equation with alcohol use and testosterone as significant individual predictors in the equation. Overall the Tobit model indicated that only alcohol use family income and relationship quality were significantly related to domestic violence. Furthermore the physiological set of variables and the social domain had a significant effect on violence while the psychological variables as a group did not have a statistically significant effect on violence probability.

Detecting and Correcting Attrition Bias in Longitudinal Family Research

Abstract: Conducting longitudinal research has been encouraged among family scholars as a way to better understand family process and to measure changes in family structure and relationships over time. When doing longitudinal research, a common problem is the loss of sample members between the first wave of data collection and subsequent waves. Some subjects move between data points and cannot be located, whereas others refuse to continue their participation. Some members of the original sample, especially if it includes older adults, will have died or have become too disabled to participate further in the study. These losses represent an attrition of the original sample over time. These various forms of attrition of a sample result in a potential threat of bias if those who drop out have unique characteristics such that the remaining sample ceases to be representative of the original sample. This bias, known as attrition bias, is assumed to exist when there are significant differences between the initial and later samples. Because the loss of sample members between the first wave of data collection and subsequent waves is relatively common, researchers in longitudinal studies should check for attrition bias. Unchecked bias may be the major threat to longitudinal research (Markides, Dickson, & Pappas, 1982; Norris, 1985). Larzelere and Klein (1987) listed sample attrition as one of the three major problems that researchers face in analyzing longitudinal data. Despite the threat of attrition bias, however, it has received little attention in longitudinal family research. Indeed, few family researchers address this issue when reporting the results of their analyses of longitudinal data. There are two ways attrition can bias a sample. Firs, it may alter the characteristics of the sample, making it no longer representative of the original sample. Because the results of later waves of data are not generalizable to the original population that was sampled, the external validity of the study is threatened. For example, a longitudinal study examining the effects of divorce on the mental health of former spouses may fail to retain those subjects who have become too depressed to respond to the questionnaire. The nonparticipation of this subsample could bias the findings towards a minimization of depression as an outcome of divorce. The second way that selective attrition can bias longitudinal data is by altering the covariance of variables (Goudy, 1985; Norris, 1987). This problem occurs when the underrepresentation of some groups in the longitudinal sample leads to correlations between variables that are different than the true correlations in the original sample. Referring back to the previous example, the underrepresentation of depressed people in the second wave of the study may distort the statistical relation between length of marriage and depression. This poses a potentially severe threat to theory building because of the effect of these distortions on internal validity. TESTING FOR ATTRITION BIAS The most common method for detecting attrition bias in the characteristics of the sample is to use t tests to compare those subjects who responded to all waves of the study with those who dropped out after only one wave. The means of important variables from the first wave, such as socioeconomic status (SES), age, marital satisfaction, and depression, are compared between the two samples to determine if the differences are statistically significantly different. Significant differences in the means of one or more variables indicates the existence of attrition bias. Differences in categorical variables, such as race and marital status, can be determined by using the chi-square statistic. Logit analysis is a second method for detecting differences in characteristics of the sample. A logit equation is developed to estimate the probability that each first wave respondent will participate in later waves. …